In the recent election campaign, the far-right Swiss People's Party used a poster with a black sheep being kicked off a Swiss red-and-white flag. Just now, I read an article in Der Spiegel about German far-right National Democratic Party and noticed their campaign poster deliberately apes the controversial Swiss election poster. "We're cleaning up in Hesse!" says the poster with a black sheep being kicked off the State of Hesse's red-and-white flag.

I must admit that the use of black sheep is a smart move. The far-right neo-Nazis know their potential voters are racists and bigots. They also know that people in general would not stand for outspoken racism. So, what they have done is to use a pictorial language that speaks directly to the racist mind but could also be understood as a reference to the well-known saying referring to criminals.

Background: "Racist Party Strengthened in Switzerland"